Port Adds Last-out Vessel Call; New Service Provides Link to Indian Subcontinent Market

Exporters using The Port of Virginia® now have a new way of reaching the growing Indian Subcontinent market by utilizing a new standalone vessel service that has Virginia as its last US East Coast port call.

The service, called the WIN (West India North America) service is offered by ocean carrier Ocean Network Express, or ONE, made its first call to The Port of Virginia on June 23.

The vessel ONE Modern called Norfolk International Terminals in late June marking the beginning of the ocean carrier’s WIN service.

Stephen A. Edwards, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority said the service gives the port a direct link to western India and Pakistan, which are both growing markets for export cargo. Ocean carrier HMM is also sharing space on this service; for this carrier it is the IAX (India America Express) service.

“This is an important development because it gives exporters quicker access to the Indian Subcontinent, which is an up-and-coming market and an area that holds a lot of trade potential,” Edwards said. “There is a lot of interest and growing cargo volumes in this trade lane. This is an excellent opportunity for exporters of agricultural products, like cotton and grain, to quickly get their products to this area of the world.”

(L-R) Ted Holt, port operations manager for ONE, Tony Salino, director of ocean carrier sales for Virginia International Terminals, the ship’s master and David Fletcher, an assistant operations manager at VIT boarded the vessel and presented a maiden voyage plaque to the ship’s master.

Last-out vessel calls are important to exporters because their cargo loads onto a ship and heads directly to the market; there is no waiting while the ship makes additional stops at peer ports along the East Coast.

• The east-to-west port rotation is The Port of Virginia, Bin Qasim, Pakistan, then Mundra, Hazira and Nhava Sheva, all of which are ports on India’s west coast.

Edwards said this is an opportunity for exporters to capitalize on the port’s growing assets and its rail link with Memphis, which is an important logistics hub in the Southeast. A significant amount of agricultural exports are loaded in Memphis.

“We’re building America’s Most Modern Gateway and that means working with our customers and rail partners to identify emerging markets and then creating a connection to them,” Edwards said. “Deep, wide channels that can accommodate the biggest ships in the Atlantic trade, an expanding rail capability, modern terminals and overall efficiency are positioning The Port of Virginia for long-term success. We are telling our customers, cargo owners and logistics companies that your needs are not going to outgrow our capabilities.”

The Virginia Port Authority (VPA) is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The VPA owns and through its private operating subsidiary, Virginia International Terminals, LLC (VIT), operates four general cargo facilities Norfolk International Terminals, Portsmouth Marine Terminal, Newport News Marine Terminal and the Virginia Inland Port in Warren County. The VPA leases Virginia International Gateway and Richmond Marine Terminal. A recent economic impact study from The College of William and Mary shows that The Port of Virginia helps to create more than 565,000 jobs and generated $63 billion in Virginia gross domestic product.